So very tired...
I spent most of this week in Liverpool working at the mersey river system. They needed to do some upkeep and maintenance on the hydro plants there and so needed to drain one of the rivers. Our job was to run around trying to save all the fish left on the side of the river in small pools that would inevitably dry up over the few months required to do the work.
We arrived on monday, found that while they were only supposed to drain six inches when we would start that they'd accidentally drained six or seven feet. While the boys hooked up their motorized canoe I pulled on my wadding equipment and ran around try to save some fish. Several hundred were dead by the time I had started. None-the-less I managed to save several hundred more, mainly kilafish, yellow perch, but also the occasional white perch, cat fish, eel and a few newts. Newts are awesome. I also nearly passed out from dehydration and we missed out on the opportunity to do some electrofishing because our waders happened to be leaking and we could have been killed by the electrofisher.
Tuesday was fun, more fish rescue and then we had to drain a fish ladder which overflowed due to us draining the river running from the lake it was connected to. So we added another couple of boards to the choke point and cleared everything out. I managed to pick up two baby snapping turtles. Its amazing just how long their necks are, the larger of the two tried to snap at my fingers when I was holding it by the shell above its hind legs. Sadly we also found an adult snapping turtle stuck in one of the drains in the fish ladder, it had already died. It was apparently pregnant as well. It was a shame but we simply got there too late.
Wednesday was rather uneventful. I spent most of my time out on the canoe take temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen readings. I got pretty toasted in the evening and had my co-workers recount all the myriad ways that I could be killed on the job. They're all pretty awful but none should ever happen unless I do something really foolish. Drowning isn't high on my list of things to do this summer. Maybe next year.
Thursday was also pretty relaxed. I hiked a couple miles through the woods to Jordan river to retrieve a water quality logger. I wasn't actually needed in the least but I went because the dude who was actually needed wanted someone around to help out in the case that a bear stumbled upon him while he's fiddling with computer dealies. Then I got to come home. I need to see if I can get next friday off, not for any particular reason but because I've put in a crazy amount of unpaid overtime and I think they are indebted to me.
Tonight is the Yagerfest at the Marquee, come one come all. Mantra puts on a hell of a show.
We arrived on monday, found that while they were only supposed to drain six inches when we would start that they'd accidentally drained six or seven feet. While the boys hooked up their motorized canoe I pulled on my wadding equipment and ran around try to save some fish. Several hundred were dead by the time I had started. None-the-less I managed to save several hundred more, mainly kilafish, yellow perch, but also the occasional white perch, cat fish, eel and a few newts. Newts are awesome. I also nearly passed out from dehydration and we missed out on the opportunity to do some electrofishing because our waders happened to be leaking and we could have been killed by the electrofisher.
Tuesday was fun, more fish rescue and then we had to drain a fish ladder which overflowed due to us draining the river running from the lake it was connected to. So we added another couple of boards to the choke point and cleared everything out. I managed to pick up two baby snapping turtles. Its amazing just how long their necks are, the larger of the two tried to snap at my fingers when I was holding it by the shell above its hind legs. Sadly we also found an adult snapping turtle stuck in one of the drains in the fish ladder, it had already died. It was apparently pregnant as well. It was a shame but we simply got there too late.
Wednesday was rather uneventful. I spent most of my time out on the canoe take temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen readings. I got pretty toasted in the evening and had my co-workers recount all the myriad ways that I could be killed on the job. They're all pretty awful but none should ever happen unless I do something really foolish. Drowning isn't high on my list of things to do this summer. Maybe next year.
Thursday was also pretty relaxed. I hiked a couple miles through the woods to Jordan river to retrieve a water quality logger. I wasn't actually needed in the least but I went because the dude who was actually needed wanted someone around to help out in the case that a bear stumbled upon him while he's fiddling with computer dealies. Then I got to come home. I need to see if I can get next friday off, not for any particular reason but because I've put in a crazy amount of unpaid overtime and I think they are indebted to me.
Tonight is the Yagerfest at the Marquee, come one come all. Mantra puts on a hell of a show.